Clipper card may force transit fare coordination

TRANSPORTATION Regional fares could simplify growing system

(left to right) The Surminsky family, Nancy, Luke, Charlie, Ben and Susan, use the Clipper Card ticket machine to purchase tickets at the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco, Ca., on Thursday March 17, 2011. Visiting from Chico, Ca. they were traveling by MUNI to the San Francisco Zoo. Use of the Clipper Card, the universal transit ticket, is soaring but there have been plenty of problems with the system. less

(left to right) The Surminsky family, Nancy, Luke, Charlie, Ben and Susan, use the Clipper Card ticket machine to purchase tickets at the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco, Ca., on Thursday March 17, ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Image
1of/4

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 4

(left to right) The Surminsky family, Nancy, Luke, Charlie, Ben and Susan, use the Clipper Card ticket machine to purchase tickets at the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco, Ca., on Thursday March 17, 2011. Visiting from Chico, Ca. they were traveling by MUNI to the San Francisco Zoo. Use of the Clipper Card, the universal transit ticket, is soaring but there have been plenty of problems with the system. less

(left to right) The Surminsky family, Nancy, Luke, Charlie, Ben and Susan, use the Clipper Card ticket machine to purchase tickets at the Powell Street BART station in San Francisco, Ca., on Thursday March 17, ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

Clipper card may force transit fare coordination

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

Clipper, the Bay Area's universal transit fare system, continues to grow, expanding to cover all of the largest transit systems and serving 400,000 riders a day. But its growth has revealed problems that could lead to agencies adopting a regional fare plan.

"What we've learned over the past couple of months is that it would be appropriate to have a simpler regional fare structure that applies across multiple agencies," said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area's transportation financing and planning agency, and administrator of the Clipper program.

Clipper, originally known as TransLink, was designed to make life simpler for commuters who navigate two or more of the Bay Area's 28 transit agencies, all of which set their own fares. Instead of needing to carry a pocket full of change, transit riders can pay fares with a single card loaded with cash or linked to a credit card or bank account.

But handling all of the differing fare structures has created problems. When the universal transit ticket idea was conceived more than a decade ago, the commission persuaded transit agencies to sign on by allowing them to keep setting their own fares. Accommodating those complexities slowed development of the system, and contributed to the $133 million development cost.

As Clipper's usage has surged, getting the card to work for both customers and administrators has created frustration, and conflicting and confusing fare rules.

Most Bay Area transit operators charge flat fares and offer passes or multiple-ride tickets for a set fee. But BART and Caltrain charge distance-based fares. Caltrain, which uses a zone system, also offers monthly passes for each zone but BART doesn't.

To make it convenient for riders on BART, Clipper included a feature that allows those whose card values run low to exit even if their cards lack the full fare. But some riders, especially on BART, took advantage, especially after some media outlets revealed how to cheat the so-called negative balance system.

Clipper was forced this month to raise the minimum cost of a new ticket to $5, which it hopes will reduce the number of fare cheats.

Web of fare rules

Meanwhile, when Caltrain eliminated paper passes last month and required passengers to get Clipper cards, they got trapped in the web of fare rules. To activate monthly passes, riders need to tag their card at the first of the month when they get on and off the train. Failure to do so can cause them to be inadvertently charged higher fares.

They also need to carry at least a $1.25 cash balance on their cards - in addition to their passes - or they could exceed the limit for the negative balance feature, and end up being charged a higher fare.

When this happened. the Clipper customer service center was overwhelmed by complaints from Caltrain pass holders. It caught the attention of transportation officials, who now seem willing to broach the previously unthinkable idea of coordinating transit fares.

Goodwin said the topic is likely to be discussed by the commission's Transit Sustainability Committee, which is already looking at how the Bay Area's transit agencies can cooperate or consolidate to cut costs. The committee is due to present recommendations in spring of 2012.

"The need for this kind of reform has been made clear," he said, "but it could take a year - or longer."

Clipper fee debate

Clipper also ran into trouble when some companies that administer commuter benefits informed cardholders of a new $2 monthly "Clipper fee" they intended to start charging this month. The commission's attorneys demanded that Cubic, the contractor that runs Clipper, and Edenred, a company that issues Commuter Checks, "cease and desist" from imposing the fee on commuters.

Cubic charges a $1.25 per person monthly administration fee to Edenred but had not anticipated the cost would be passed on to customers as a Clipper service charge. The issue remains under negotiation.

Clipper's next big challenge comes April 1 when the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency eliminates its paper "M" Fast Passes, which allow riders unlimited monthly trips on Muni buses, rail lines and cable cars, and moves them to Clipper.

Muni spokesman Paul Rose said that about 60 percent of the 66,000 pass holders have already shifted to Clipper, and the agency expects the shift to go smoothly.